The Best Way Out Is Always Through/Transcript
Joan Watson: Sherlock? Sherlock Holmes: Yeah? Watson: Can you come down here, please? Is that the real Stanley Cup? Holmes: That's precisely what I'm trying to determine. Several days ago, whilst browsing auction sites on the Dark Web, I came across a listing for the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, aka Lord Stanley's Cup. I was skeptical as to the cup's provenance, so I bought it. Watson: Why would you buy it if you were skeptical...? Holmes: The cup has humble beginnings. It started off as a mere bowl. In 1927, long narrow bands were added and then replaced by uneven bands in 1947. The original bowl is in the vault in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The hall also keeps a near-perfect duplicate on hand. The Presentation Cup, if indeed this is the genuine article, is here. Watson: Wait a second, are you into hockey? Holmes: What I'm into, Watson, is the possibility that the cup was stolen. It travels under the constant supervision of its keeper, so opportunities to nick it are very, very rare. If it is the real cup, I shall return it to the National Hockey League with all due haste. If not, Clyde has a new wading pool. Watson: And the reason it's in the tub is? Holmes: I was measuring water displacement to determine the cup's density. Now it's just drying. Watson: Hmm. Holmes: It can dry elsewhere. Kai: Nice, yo. Getting closer to that 80-inch plasma. Enrique: Man, plasma dead, you want LED. Kai: Ooh. Check it out. Hey old man, you having trouble getting home? Enrique: Man, he look lost to me. Kai: Tell you what. Show us your wallet, we see where you live, make sure you get on the right train. Hey, man, I'm talking to you. Oh no way! Enrique: Hey. Hey. Hey, mister, can you hear me? Kai: What are you doing? We gotta get out of here. Enrique: We can't just leave him here. He'll die. Kai: So? Enrique: Hey mister, everything's all right. The ambulance is coming. They're gonna help you. Kai (phone): Yeah, I want to report a...I don't know, an assault or something. Shauna Scott: You hated it. Detective Bell: Well, I wouldn't say hated. I just never understood bands that are that angry. Shauna: They are not angry. They're young. You're old. Bell: You act like I don't know you got a few months on me. Shauna: If you are trying to talk me out of going back to my place, well, you are doing a good job. Bell: Your place? That's new. Shauna: It's my neighborhood, and um, got rid of all those bodies, so...it's work. Shauna (phone): Shauna Scott. I'll be right there. Shauna: Sorry. I'll call you if it's not too late. Bell: Sure. Tomorrow works too. Shauna: Don't give up on tonight. Bell (phone): It's Bell. Holmes: Watson, you've lived here your whole life. Why do you think so many New Yorkers feel the need to combine public transportation with public urination? Watson: You know, it's part of the charm. Bell: What I've been told so far, victim's a New Jersey criminal court judge named Dennis Vaughn. Looks like someone got him at the top of the steps. Single stab wound to the chest. Weapon was a screwdriver. 12th Squad caught the case but given who the vic is, chief of D's asked Major Case to take it over. Shauna: Detective Bell. Bell: Detective Scott from the 12th, this is Sherlock Holmes, Joan Watson. Watson: Any idea why the judge was in the city? Shauna: Spoke to a clerk at his office. She said he was here attending a fundraiser for the Jersey governor's re-election campaign. Watson: So the governor of New Jersey holds fundraisers in New York? Shauna: Have you ever been to Trenton? CSU lifted these prints off of the weapon. Holmes: May I? Bell: Who called it in? Shauna: Couple of kids over there. They don't exactly scream model citizens, but they stuck around, so I'm thinking they weren't involved. We'll know more when the prints come back. Holmes: Prints are more likely yours than theirs. Shauna: Excuse me? Holmes: No, I don't mean yours, specifically, but I'm fairly certain these prints are female. Research has shown a correlation between the relative thickness of the ridges and valleys of an individual's fingerprints and his or her sex. Shauna: And you can see these ridges and valleys well enough to know the difference? Bell: Oh, trust me, he can. Watson: Was the judge married? Shauna: No. I asked the clerk. Next of kin is a brother in Florida. Holmes: Well, he had sex tonight. Not the brother, the judge. He's freshly showered and his skin bears the aroma of a soap used exclusively at the Waldorf Astoria. Shauna: That's where the fundraiser was. Holmes: And yet he didn't spend the night. His presence here suggests he was on his way home. And before he got very far, he met with a passionate death at the hands of a woman. Shauna: So you're thinking lovers' quarrel. Holmes: Wouldn't explain the use of a screwdriver as a murder weapon, but it would accommodate the other evidence. Bell: I'll get the guest list from the fundraiser, see if anyone fits the bill. Loretta Nichols: You think I had something to do with what happened to Vaughn? Captain Gregson: We know the judge left the fundraiser early and went up to a room at the Waldorf. We also know that you had a room there. That's where you spent last night. Nichols: The governor's office booked rooms for all of his top staffers. None of us were gonna drive back to Trenton. Holmes: That's fair enough. You were the only one of those staffers who was seen leaving the function around the same time Judge Vaughn did. Neither of you returned for the rest of the evening. We know what happened to him, Miss Nichols. Where were you? Nichols: Dennis and I had been seeing each other on and off since law school. Gregson: He had to be, what, 20 years older than you. Watson: He was a professor, you were a student. Nichols: At first, it had to be a secret, and then, over the years, he just insisted we keep it that way. He was worried about what it would do to his reputation. I didn't say anything because, even now, I don't think that he would want anybody to know. Gregson: And after he left the hotel, you didn't go back to the party. Nichols: No, I was invited by a friend for a drink at a bar around the corner. And we were there until I heard about Dennis. Her name's Andrea Schuster. I can give you her number. Bell: Can I talk to you guys a second? Bell: I wouldn't bother getting Miss Nichols' prints. NCIC just came back with a hit in Jersey. Woman by the name of Nikki Moreno. Repeat drug offender. Judge Vaughn sentenced her to four years at Pemberton Women's Correctional Facility. Watson: When was she released? Bell: She wasn't. She escaped two days ago. Trey McCann: There's Moreno's visitor logs, phone transcripts and all the write-ups. State police got copies too. She was a troublemaker. Pulled a few cell phones off her. She'd mouth off to the C.O.'s. Couple times, I had to put her in the SHU. Oh, that's solitary. Watson: We get Netflix. Bell: Any idea how she got out? McCann: First we noticed was when she didn't show up for count. We went into lockdown, but she was gone. We still got a lot of video to go through. Holmes: I'd like copies of those videos. I'd also like to walk your perimeter and examine each of your gates. McCann: Oh, our people went over all of that. They didn't find anything. Watson: Knowing how she escaped might help us find out if anyone was helping her, maybe even tell us where she is. Holmes: My interest is equally academic. True prison breaks, those from within the grounds, are rare. Those perpetrated by women, almost unheard of. It's statistics, Watson. It's not that they fail more. It's just that they don't try. Bell: Academic interests aside, we would appreciate your help. McCann: Tell you the truth, this whole thing doesn't surprise me. Budget cuts have stretched us pretty thin. We're understaffed. A lot of the cameras are on the fritz. Guys at R.E. only care about the bottom line. Watson: R.E? Holmes: Reform Enterprises. It's the company that owns this facility. Privatized prisons, capitalism at its most cynical. Profits are tied to filling the beds, so public policy that puts more people behind bars is good and prevention and rehabilitation are bad. McCann: I stay out of all the politics. We're just trying to do our jobs. Bell: While Mr. Holmes checks out the grounds, we'd like to see Miss Moreno's cell. Watson: Nikki only had two years left on her sentence. Now, if we find her, she's gonna spend the rest of her life behind bars. Bell: From her file, it looks like Judge Vaughn could have gone a lot easier on her. Deputy Warden McCann made her sound like a hothead. Maybe she held a grudge. Already been tossed? Watson: Detective Scott seems nice. Matching hand stamps at the crime scene. Dead giveaway. Bell: We've been trying to keep it low-profile. At least until it gets more serious. Watson: Well, she seems nice. I mean it. Bell: Yeah, thanks. I've never dated another detective before. It has its pros and cons. We understand each other. Watson: "The Poetry of Robert Frost." Bell: Looks pretty new. Watson: This is the only book that isn't from the prison library. Does Nikki strike you as the "poems about New England farm life" type? Bell: Could be she was expanding her horizons. Could be it was a gift. Watson: "Start with page ten and dream about the apple trees. Jeff." Bell: It's pretty intimate stuff. Watson: Yeah, I don't remember anyone named Jeff in Nikki's visitor log. Bell: Weren't any Jeffs in her list of known associates either. So whoever he is, maybe he knows something. Watson: So I think I know who Jeff is. Holmes: Do tell. Watson: I just heard back from the warden at Pemberton. Turns out there's an attorney named Jeff Harper who gives seminars at the prison. That's why his name wasn't on Nikki's visitor list. He works for an advocacy group that advises inmates of their rights, answers any legal questions. Holmes: And gifts them with the occasional book of poetry? Watson: The warden agreed that was unusual. So I thought we'd pay Jeff a visit tomorrow, see if there was anything more to his relationship with Nikki than people knew. Now what are you doing? Holmes: My previous test of the cup's legitimacy proved inconclusive. As you are no doubt aware, the metal composition of cutlery can have an effect on food's flavor. That's why caviar is best enjoyed with spoons made of bone or porcelain rather than steel. This is a far cry from a spoon, of course, but the same essential principles apply. Watson: So you think you'll be able to taste if that's the real trophy. Holmes: Needs a moment. Watson: Oh, is that everything from the 12th? Holmes: Mm-hm. Courtesy of Detective Scott. There's little more to glean here than there was at the scene of the crime. Watson: So, what do you think of her? Holmes: Her report is meticulous. She's a keen observer and detail-oriented. Watson: No, I mean do you like her? Holmes: Why on earth would that matter? Watson: No reason. Forget I asked. Holmes: You've divined her secret. Watson: What? Holmes: Somehow you've realized that she's leading a double life. You're wondering if I was aware, well, I was. Watson: Of course you were. Holmes: She'll need to be more careful lest everyone realize she's working for Internal Affairs. Watson: Scott isn't Internal Affairs. She's a detective at the 12th. Holmes: She's both. I thought you knew her secret. Watson: How could she be both? Holmes: She's a field associate. Her desk is at the 12th precinct and she reports to IAB when needed. Watson: Are you saying that she's a spy? Holmes: Well, in a manner of speaking. Watson: How do you know? Holmes: After our administrative hearing last year, I anticipated the bureau would want to keep tabs on us. I thought I'd beat them to the punch. I performed some light surveillance of their offices, and identified a number of their field associates. Detective Scott was one of them. This vexes you? Watson: She and Marcus have been seeing each other. That's what I thought you meant when you said she was leading a double life. Holmes: Ah. Well, I confess to being surprised that that escaped my attention, but as you know, the lives of those closest to me are often the most difficult ones for me to... Watson: How can you be so casual about this? Holmes: About what? You don't think he knows? Watson: Do you? Holmes: Well, say he doesn't. How is it any of our concern? Watson: Are you serious? Holmes: We're not cops, Watson. For as long as there's been police, there's been police corruption. The bureau might not be popular, but it's utterly necessary. Watson: You just said you surveilled them. Holmes: Because I feared they might not approve of our methods, not because I thought they were inherently evil. Watson: I know they go after bad cops, but you know they jam up a lot of good ones. Holmes: Do you fear this to be the case with Marcus, that he's being jammed? Watson: If you're asking me if I think she's a honey trap, no, I don't. I think they like each other, but think about it. What if he does something like help fix another cop's mistake and then tells her about it? Isn't it her job to bring things like this to her boss? You know, I'll call him tomorrow and if he knows about it, I'll tell him we'll keep it between us. Holmes: And if he doesn't? Watson: Then I guess he'll have a decision to make. Gregson: I asked the Freehold P.D. in Jersey to send us those. Gwen is Deputy McCann's wife. She called 911 after that last text. Bell: The way McCann talked about Nikki Moreno, they locked horns plenty. First Judge Vaughn, then him? Looks like she's keeping a hit list. Holmes: For a previously unremarkable drug dealer, Miss Moreno continues to defy expectations. Spree killer is yet another category dominated by men. Watson: How does she do it? Holmes: Would you be happier if women were better criminals? Bell: Anything on the weapon? Gregson: Just that she used a 9 mm and it hasn't turned up yet. Assume she's still got it, wherever she is. Federal marshals, state police, every P.D. in New York and New Jersey is into it and no one's got a clue. Watson: Sherlock and I are going to meet with Jeff Harper at 9 at his office. Maybe you want to join us? Gregson: Jeff Harper? Bell: He's the advocacy attorney who gave Nikki the book Joan found. Seemed like a pretty personal gift to come from a legal advisor, so even if he's not helping her, he might have some insight. Holmes: Given this new development, I suggest you visit Mr. Harper without me. I would like to inspect the scene of the deputy warden's murder myself as well as his remains. Gregson: I'll set it up. Let me know what you guys find. Bell: "Lovers, forget your love and list to the love of these. She a window flower and he a winter breeze." Page ten. It's pretty stuff. That come up when you were explaining the appeals process, or how to prep for a parole hearing? Jeff Harper: You must have some real questions you want to ask me. So, ask them. Watson: Did you help Nikki Moreno escape? Harper: No. Bell: Do you know where she is? Harper: No. Watson: Well, you obviously got closer than people knew. Harper: Actually, we didn't. I'll admit there was flirtation. I liked her. And she flirted back. I assume because she saw me as someone who could help. Maybe the poetry book was ill-advised, but I'm not an idiot, I never crossed the line. Bell: What kind of help did she want? Harper: Same kind everyone in prison wants. How to get out quicker. Legally. Watson: Did she tell you about her plans for Judge Vaughn or Trey McCann? Harper: I would've come forward if she had. I'm just as shocked as anybody, more so. And I never heard her say a word against Judge Vaughn. But did I know she hated Trey McCann? Sure. You know what it's like in those private prisons? Bell: Well, the late deputy warden had a few thoughts on the matter. Harper: Gave you his "we're underfunded and we're just trying to do our jobs" speech? That place is a breeding ground for abusive guards. McCann would put women in the SHU just to show his dominance. Last week, he forced Nikki to switch work details. He assigned her to a computer recycling shop. Know what they do in those places? Bell: Recycle computers? Harper: The prisoners break up old components with hammers. They're exposed to toxic heavy metals and they're not even given proper protective gear. Look, I get that prison isn't supposed to be a picnic. But you put housing inmates in the hands of for-profit companies and all human decency goes out the window. Bell: You obviously have strong feelings. Makes me wonder if you decided to help one inmate get a little payback. Harper: I want prison reform, not anarchy. Besides, I already was helping Nikki get out, the right way. I'd just filed a motion to get her sentence reduced. Took weeks of prep, pro bono, and I think we had a decent shot at winning. Now tell me, why would I bother to do all that and then help her escape? Bell: We should get the court records to confirm all this, but my gut says he's telling the truth. He would have wanted to let the motion play out. Now, the courthouse is just a couple miles away. You want to take a ride over there? Watson: Before we do, I'd like to talk to you about something. Newscast: The search continues today for Nikki Moreno, a prisoner who escaped from Pemberton Women's Correctional Facility in New Jersey several days ago... Shauna: I know you guys swear by this place at the 11th, but a cop bar? Really? For lunch? I bet the salads are even made of ground beef. Bell: Just felt right today. Shauna: What is it? Bell: Do you work for IAB? It's a simple question. Shauna: No, it's not. And yes, I do. Bell: Did they force you? Jam you up so you had to work with them? Shauna: Nobody jammed me up. I was approached at the academy. Bell: So you've been in their pocket a long time. Shauna: A little over eight years. Bell: They know about us? Shauna: No. Bell: But eventually. Shauna: I don't know. I'm not in anyone's pocket, okay? I'm a resource. When IA needs to know what's going on at the 12th, I shed light. That's it. More often than not, what I tell them helps good cops stay out of trouble. Bell: Because that's what the rat squad's all about, right? Helping cops? Shauna: Wow. Must be a nice view from that glass house, Marcus. Bell: What's that supposed to mean? Shauna: It means that a little over a year ago, you gift-wrapped your old boss Deputy Commissioner Da Silva. He is serving life now. Bell: He was in bed with a mob family. Shauna: He was a cop. A brother in blue. Weren't you supposed to just look the other way? Bell: What I did and what you do are totally different. Shauna: How? Bell: I went to work for Da Silva in good faith. Something stunk. I reported it because I had to. You? You're a plant. You take shots from the shadows. Shauna: I do not take shots. I answer questions. Bell: You hide what you really are. And you rat on your friends. Men and women that would give their lives for you. I could never do that. Shauna: I'd like to think that you know me by now. I mean, is that how you honestly think I do my job? Bell: I never knew you, Shauna. Not for a second. Watson: Oh, hey. I thought you'd still be in Freehold. Holmes: There was little to be found in Freehold. I returned here. Watson: I know why you're so obsessed. It kills you that an unremarkable criminal could figure out how to escape from a prison when you can't. Holmes: That's nonsense. I know how I'd escape. I've found 11 different ways. What I cannot determine is how she escaped. Surveillance footage, log records, physical evidence have ruled out every method I've devised. Watson: Is this my bra? Holmes: Yes, I needed the underwire. I was testing whether Miss Moreno could have fashioned a suitable lock pick from the tools at her disposal. I also need to replace your toothbrush. I don't suppose the poetry lover shed any light on the situation. Watson: On top of having an alibi the night Nikki escaped, his story with the court checked out. Thanks to him, she had a good shot at reducing her sentence. Holmes: Perhaps her escape was one of opportunity. She saw an out and she took it. Watson: Or she just decided enough was enough. Jeff Harper made it sound like she had reached her last straw. Holmes: Explain. Watson: A week before she broke out, McCann forced her to work around toxic materials. If that happened to me and there was nothing I could do about it, I might start looking for a way out. Holmes: Continue explaining. Watson: It was a computer recycling shop. Prisons make deals with big companies who use prison labor for next to nothing. Holmes: I know this. The recycling shop you mentioned is here. You said she had no choice in the reassignment. Harper specifically said she was forced. Watson: That's what Nikki told him. McCann made her switch jobs. Why? Holmes: According to her records, she requested the job change. But that's only according to Officer McCann. He's the one who reported the move. Watson: So one of them is lying. How does that change things? Holmes: I think I know how to find Miss Moreno. Holmes: The last verifiable sighting of Nikki Moreno was shortly before her shift was due to begin. According to the work log, she was the only prisoner scheduled to be here at that time. Bell: According to her file, she asked for overtime. She was trying to save up some money. Watson: Well, Jeff Harper said she hated that job, so why would she do that? Bell: Could be it was to get a hold of the screwdriver she used to kill Judge Vaughn. Holmes: As to this being the source of the screwdriver, I suspect you're right. But this might be the only part of the scenario you're imagining that is. Bell: Okay. Enlighten us. Holmes: Prisoners assigned here separate hazardous material from safe, and they put each in their respective bins. The hazardous bins are then sealed and picked up for transfer to a toxic waste facility. If you wouldn't mind. Bell: What, you think she escaped in one of these bins? Holmes: No. I considered the possibility, and then, uh, I dismissed it. There was no pick-up the night Nikki disappeared. And the next one is not for two days. Also, thanks to Judge Vaughn's murder, I was working under the assumption that Nikki'd actually left the prison. Watson: Nikki didn't escape. She was murdered right here. Bell: A day before Judge Vaughn was killed, so she didn't kill him or Trey McCann. Holmes: Unless I'm mistaken, Trey McCann murdered her. Bell: The garrotte was stashed under the body. The prints on the handles were a match for Trey McCann. Holmes: We believe he transferred Nikki to the computer lab in order to facilitate her murder. Where he could get her alone, away from the cameras and also have a convenient way of disposing of her body. Watson: Two more days and that bin would have been buried in a landfill. Nikki would have disappeared forever. Gregson: We like McCann for Judge Vaughn's murder too? Bell: He was on duty at the prison that night. Watson: We found out that he made some high-end purchases a few weeks ago, all with cash. We think someone paid him to get Nikki's prints on that screwdriver and then kill her. That person is behind Judge Vaughn's murder. Holmes: And, presumably, the murder of Trey McCann. He was a loose end, tied up by the myth of Nikki Moreno's escape. Gregson: She was a patsy. Bell: We can't know that for sure yet. We looked under every rock in her life when we thought she was on the run. Nobody leapt out as wanting her dead. Holmes: Criminal judges, on the other hand, collect death threats as an occupational by-product. There were too many suspects on one side, not enough on the other. What most interests me, however, is the killer's choice of Trey McCann as co-conspirator. Watson: McCann wasn't exactly a contract killer, so we think whoever hired him knew him well enough to think he'd do it. Bell: I remembered McCann's last gig was at a max facility in South Jersey, and that's owned by another for-profit company. Gregson: Correctional Administration Group. Bell: They fired him after just eight months. Could be that he got chummy with some inmates. If he did, it would explain why they let him go. Holmes: Might also reveal a connection to a criminal or group of criminals that wished Judge Vaughn dead. Gregson: Talk to the people who fired McCann. See if you're right about him making his way into someone's pocket. Watson: In the meantime, I'll go through Vaughn's bench record, look through any threats he received. Any luck, we'll find the same name in both places. Perry Franklin: I heard about the woman who broke out of Pemberton. You really think that Trey McCann killed her? Holmes: Quite horribly, in fact. He might have underwhelmed you as a corrections officer, but the evidence suggests he had a certain zeal for assassination. Bell: We were hoping you could tell us why you let him go in 2013. If it had anything to do with him doing favors for inmates, it might help us track down the person who hired him. There a problem? Franklin: I'm sorry, but I can't help you. I mean, I can confirm that Trey McCann worked for us as a C.O. and that he was terminated for cause, but anything beyond that is confidential. It's company policy. Bell: Mr. Franklin, you understand we're trying to solve three murders, including that of a sitting judge? Franklin: I do, and I wish I could say more. But as an officer of Correctional Administration Group, I'm legally obligated to put the company first. That's what subpoenas are for, right? Come back with one, that'll untie my hands, and I'll give you anything you want. Holmes: My colleague and I are positing that Mr. McCann colluded with convicted criminals during and thanks to your employ. If we're right, I don't imagine that would play too well with your shareholders, would it? Then again, were it to reach the media that C.A.G. was hindering an investigation into a judge's murder, can't imagine that would play much better. Bell: Mr. Franklin, we have no interest in exposing your company's secrets. We only care about Trey McCann and his associates. You help us, how he came to know those associates never has to come to light. Franklin: Tell you what, I will set you up in a room with the files on McCann. You can take as long as you like, but nothing in writing leaves this building. If it does, the N.Y.P.D. can look forward to a lawsuit. Fair enough? Bell: Looks like we were onto something. Says here in 2013 Correctional Administration Group found evidence Trey McCann was running favors for a Russian bratva, the Zaleskys. He was bringing contraband in and out of a prison in East Orange for them and setting their guys up with the best work details. Holmes: The official reason given for his termination is excessive absences. So obviously, C.A.G. were trying to keep misconduct off the record and out of the press. Bell: Got to think it helped him get a new job with Reform Enterprises. Holmes: Question is, was he still in the pocket of the Zaleskys? If he was, they fit the bill of an organization with the means to orchestrate three murders. Bell: I'll text Joan, ask her to see if any of their people recently had brushes with Judge Vaughn. Holmes: She spoke with you? About Detective Scott? Bell: Yep. Holmes: Sorry. Bell: You don't have anything to apologize for. Holmes: Well, I'm not sure I agree. I have what some might call a strong personality. Bell: Nah. Holmes: Sometimes, without meaning to, I can bend others to my point of view. Like a magnet exposed to other metals. Forks in a drawer, for example. I have a tendency to magnetize people around me, drawing them into alignment with my own ways. Bell: What the hell are you talking about? Holmes: Watson's time with me has been marked by increasing social isolation. The Captain, perhaps by coincidence, perhaps not, is now also alone. You, found someone. Now they're gone. Bell: You think you broke us up with the power of your mind? Holmes: I'm just pointing out a pattern. Bell: Holmes, you're no magnet, and I'm sure as hell not a fork. Holmes: You are, in your own way, Marcus, a lonelier man than me. Bell: What? Holmes: Well, I at least, have Watson. And you, you deserve more. Bell: She's IA. Holmes: The great love of my life is a homicidal maniac. No one's perfect. Detective Scott made you happy. That much is obvious, so perhaps she still can. Watson: I wish there was something more we could tell you. The Zaleskys are still thriving in some parts of the state, but they're as good as dismantled in Judge Vaughn's district. He hasn't put away anyone with even a loose affiliation with them in over a decade. Bell: There might still be a connection we're not seeing. I got a buddy at the FBI's Newark field office. I'll reach out to him, see if he has any thoughts. Gregson: Do it soon. I got the chief of D's breathing down my neck. Governor's office in Jersey is taking a lot of heat over this, and they're in a sharing mood. Watson: It's an election year. It's hard to run a tough-on-crime platform with this mess. Holmes: What if that was the point? Create a news story made to embarrass the governor, then influence the upcoming election. Gregson: You think this could be all politics? Holmes: Do any of us doubt a political operative would stoop to such measures? Governorship of New Jersey is a lucrative position to control. It's worth billions each year in contracts to one's cronies. Were it not for our involvement, what would be the top news story in the tri-state area today? Bell: "Escaped inmate murders judge and guard. Still on the loose." Gregson: "Governor at a loss." Watson: According to this, his biggest competition is an assemblyman named Cortland Hughes. He's been taking swipes at the governor all week. So has his campaign manager, Andrea Schuster. Holmes: We know that name. Watson: Yeah. She's the woman Loretta Nichols said she was having drinks with when Judge Vaughn was killed. She was her alibi. Nichols: You people are insane. Bell: You're the one who gave us Miss Schuster's name. We want to make sure we got our facts straight. Nichols: There aren't any facts, okay? Because I didn't do anything wrong. Andrea and I have been friends for years. Holmes: Then you know she's a political strategist with a vicious reputation, no move too low. Nichols: So because I had drinks with her, that means that I am a part of a plot to bring down my boss and murder a man that I loved? Bell: It's one possibility. You had intimate knowledge of the judge's movements the night he was killed. You could have steered him into an ambush. Nichols: What kind of monster do you think that I? Watson: Like he said, it's one possibility. It's not the only one. Given your relationship with the judge, we're willing to believe you did not know the plan involved his murder. Bell: Now, if that's the case, we'll recommend the DA consider you an unwitting party who got in over her head. Nichols: I didn't get into anything. Andrea and I worked together when we first started out. Did she approach me about switching teams? Yes, all the time. Did I ever take it seriously? Absolutely not. Bell: Miss Nichols... Nichols: No. I have been trying to clean up this mess ever since it started. You don't believe me, check my phone logs. Talk to my assistant. You know what? Better yet, talk to the governor. Ask him who's been handling every media request. Ask him who convinced him to sever ties with Reform Enterprises. See if he has any doubt as to where my allegiances lie. Watson: Reform Enterprises? They own the prison where Nikki Moreno was held, right? Nichols: The governor has a close relationship with the CEO, which, as you can imagine, has become a major liability. We were gonna turn over another state prison to them. Now we can't. The reasons must be clear, even to you three. Watson: Of course they are. You would have had a PR nightmare on your hands. Holmes: Any other company submit bids to take over the prison? Nichols: Why? Holmes: There's a chance one of them has a killer in their employ. Gregson: Captain Gregson. This is Joan Watson. You know Detective Bell and Mr. Holmes. Franklin: Yes, Captain, everyone, come on in. I'm sorry I'm so pressed for time. Gregson: No, it's us who should be apologizing to you. We're the ones who rescheduled on you this morning. Franklin: It's not a problem. Happy to help the N.Y.P.D. any way I can. Bell: Well, you must be busy, what with the new contract to take over the state prison in Union County. You got a lot riding on that, huh? Franklin: As much as anybody here. Bell: Well sure, but you're also in charge of growth and expansion. Your bonuses are tied to new business. Franklin: Uh, yep, I guess. It's not something I like to focus on. Holmes: Really? I imagine I would focus on it quite intently. Watson: When you add up the sources of income, money from the state, kickbacks from corporations for cheap labor, all the fees you collect from the inmates themselves, a new prison is worth about $25 million a year, isn't it? Holmes: And acquiring even one new prison in New Jersey must be a daunting task, especially given the governor's connection to Reform Enterprises. Yeah. Is that why you resorted to murder? Franklin: What? Watson: Everything you arranged, the staged prison break, killing Judge Vaughn, all of it was about creating a scandal so big the governor had no choice but to distance himself from R.E. Holmes: Correctional Administration Group is the only other private prison company in the state. So R.E.'s loss these last few days has been your considerable gain. Franklin: I think I'd like you to leave now. Holmes: I would want us to leave too. This photograph was taken four nights ago at the same fundraiser that Judge Vaughn attended. Watson: You were there to watch him, right? Find just the right time to stab him with that screwdriver? Gregson: You heard your old employee, Trey McCann, had caught on at R.E., and you saw an opportunity. He was the kind to take bribes, get his hands dirty. All you had to do was find his price for killing Nikki Moreno. Franklin: That's crazy. Bell: Where's the tuxedo you're wearing in this photo? Don't hurt yourself. We already had a feeling you got rid of it. That appointment we made this morning and then canceled at the last minute? It was so state police could execute a search warrant on your house. Holmes: Your tuxedo is conspicuous by its absence, presumably because it is spattered by the blood of Judge Vaughn. Watson: The police however found your gun. A 9 mm. Holmes: Ballistics are forthcoming. We have a suspicion it will match the weapon used to perforate Trey McCann. Bell: They're gonna read you your rights now. When you call your lawyer, remind him you got two murders in Jersey and one in New York. Now, given the way you guys do things here, I'd push to serve my time in New York. Shauna: You were the one who texted, Marcus. Bell: I'm sorry about the other day. Were you ever gonna tell me? Shauna: I don't know. Bell: Well, I want to take it back. The whole day, everything I said. Shauna: Did you not mean it? Bell: I was angry. It was a lot to take in. Shauna: Marcus... Bell: No, I want to try again. The last few months, they've been really good for me. As far as I can tell, they were good for you. And all that other stuff, it shouldn't have anything to do with us. Shauna: What if everybody knew? Bell: What? Shauna: What if I told everyone? All the cops at the 11th, all your friends. Would that change things? Bell: I don't know what you... Shauna: Would it change things? I thought a lot about what you said. All the secrets I have to keep, the idea that I take shots from the shadows. Bell: Shauna... Shauna: I'm leaving the 12th. I'm transferring to IAB full-time. I'll still be a detective, but at least now people will know exactly what I am. No more secrets, no more shadows. And you were right. These last few months have been good. But this is, this is gonna be a big change for me, and I'm gonna need some time. If you still want to look me up after the dust settles, you'll know where to find me. Bell: You got a minute? I don't know which is weirder. The fact that I'm spending my Friday night with you, or the Stanley freaking Cup. You sure this is the genuine article? Holmes: Positive. The NHL has been notified and will be here to reclaim it shortly. Bell: You sure we should be doing this? Holmes: After a night celebrating the cup victory in 1905, members of the Ottawa Silver Seven felt it necessary to see if they could kick the cup into Ottawa's Rideau Canal. So, this is nothing. Bell: You honestly think I'm lonelier than you? Holmes: By a factor of ten. Bell: Well, it's tough. Meeting women, the hours I keep. Holmes: You are the most dedicated police detective I know. And it takes its toll. But a balance can be struck. I, myself, will be having sex in less than an hour. Bell: One of your "friends"? Holmes: My friends have friends, you know? Some of them might even be desirous of a relationship. Bell: Another night, maybe. Tonight, pretty sure this is all I need. Category:Transcripts